Comments by "craxd1" (@craxd1) on "Occult Literature 314: Dionysos and Immortality" video.

  1. Osiris, Dionysos, and Bacchus. However, it's older than the Egyptian's Osiris, which is the the myth of entering the underworld, and coming back, as that can be found in ancient Mesopotamia and India as well. The idea of rebirth and reincarnation stems from this. The Moses myth is said to originate from Osiris, as well, but again, there is an older "set afloat down the river" myth in Mesopotamia. It makes one wonder if all these myths didn't originate with the Yamnaya, (who became the Scythians), that spread out, and settled/conquered all the lands to the east, west, and south, starting civilization as we know it. They were known as "God's Whip." The idea of the pyramid and ziggurat starts with their mounds and mountain temples.
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  2. I don't know if that can be proven. We're dealing with academics, who've never made beer or wine, and who think that the ergot fungus was accidentally introduced, while others think they knew about it, and added it. Medicine didn't make use of it until the 16th century. "The most prominent member of this group is Claviceps purpurea ("rye ergot fungus"). This fungus grows on rye and related plants, and produces alkaloids that can cause ergotism in humans and other mammals who consume grains contaminated with its fruiting structure (called ergot sclerotium)." Animals, such as cattle, eat the entire plant, and not just the seeds hidden away in their sheaths. It may have been introduced to the seeds by those cultivating it. The fungus grows on the shafts of tall grasses, such as wheat, rye, barley, etc. Whether any can be on the seeds, especially after they're separated from the chaff, is debatable. Next, the seeds are malted, meaning they are wetted, and allowed to sprout, turning the starch to sugar. When the sprouts appear, the seeds are then roasted, stopping the process. What this can do to any lingering ergotamine is unknown. After this, they are milled and added to warm water, where yeast is added, causing it to ferment. It's strained and filtered, leaving beer. As far as wine, I do not believe that ergot fungus grows on grapes. I'm of the belief that the priests or shamans added opium in Eurasia. "Opium has been actively collected since approximately 3400 BC." There may have been other chemicals they added, that are unknown. I believe that this was investigated, when they were studying the Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek rite of passage for young males, where they were raped and sodomized). This rite is actually more ancient than any other, and was found to still be practiced with the Asmat People in Papua, New Guinea.
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  3. Let me add a little onto this. They knew that the ergot fungus was dangerous, and poisonous, and knew how to separate the bad seeds. "Removal of ergot bodies is done by placing the yield in a brine solution; the ergot bodies float while the healthy grains sink." They could also be hand sorted, where they simply picked through the batch that they were going to use for the beer or bread. "Dark-purple or black grain kernels, known as ergot bodies, can be identifiable in the heads of cereal or grass just before harvest. In most plants the ergot bodies are larger than normal grain kernels, but can be smaller if the grain is a type of wheat." Poisoning also occurred through bread, so this is ancient knowledge. This is not to say that some priest didn't save those back, and mixed them in a drink, but that can't really be proven, I don't believe, as they knew the potential poisonous side-effects. Opium will bring similar effects, and it is know that the ancient Mesopotamians used an opium drink, literally translated as "joy juice."
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  4.  @H.P.Blavatsky  My dear, I do know, and know of what you speak. You said they found traces, but, how much was that? Was it purposely used? Was it even enough to cause hallucinations? Was it merely a slight contamination, when these old civilizations knew it to be poison, leading to gangrene, and other bad side-effects? I disagree with some of the academics, because they think that the rites must have used this as a hallucinogen, when that's not true. Medicine found no use for it until the 1500s, and it was considered poison beforehand. Some academics think that those attending must have been doped on a concoction to go through with the ordeal, but this rite was accepted practice in these civilizations, and they looked forward to it, including the young males. Other civilizations, which performed a similar rite, drank nothing special at all, except for what everyone else drank. Beer and bread were the staples of food and drink, everywhere. That is why I side with the accidental, and not the use theory. If they did drink a special concoction, then my guess, it was opium tea.
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